Week in Review

I've had a pretty successful week...thus far. I've accomplished all of the things I set out to do, and am feeling pretty good about it. :)

Courtnie's dress--DONE!
House clean--DONE!
Practiced solo for Sunday's fireside--DONE!
Written talk--DONE! (almost)
Family on their way or here--DONE!

Courtnie and I have enjoyed our time together. I miss my husband and son, but am glad that they're having a great time. Gordon called on Wednesday and had fun tales to tell of Ian eating worms and riding wild burros. Mostly, I'm so glad that he hasn't been troubled with the separation anxiety that has plagued him for the past couple of years. I was worried about that, and have been praying daily for his happiness. I'm hoping that this will be a great turning point for him.

Courtnie had her baptismal interview with our bishop on Tuesday. Afterwards, the bishop told me what a sweet testimony she has. We talked a bit about the interview on the way home, and I felt the Spirit so strong as she told me what she told the bishop about her relationship with Jesus and what she thinks about Him. I truly knew the meaning of "child-like faith."

Wednesday night, my good friend Katie came over to watch "Ben-Hur." (She'd never seen it, and your life just isn't complete until you do!) I've seen this movie probably 25 times, and learn something new every time. This time, the character Balthazar struck me. In the movie he plays one of the three Wise Men who brings gifts to the infant Christ. He shows up in the movie a couple more times--each time searching for the grown Christ. The line that hit me this time was when he said, "When I see Him, I will know it is Him."

Throughout my life, I have been taught to live so that when Christ comes again I will recognize Him. One of the biggest struggles I have in my life is that I tend to be too self-reliant. I think I can do it all without asking for help. The person I need help from the most is my Savior, and at times, He has been the person I am least likely to ask. I don't know why. The thing that is the most astonishing to me is that He never tires of waiting for me to shape up and just ask. I know that He is there, and I know that He is listening. I have felt His presence in my life many times.

Later on in the movie, when Christ is delivering his Sermon on the Mount, we see Balthazar again. He tells Judah Ben-Hur that he KNOWS this is the man he has been seeking his entire life. I hope that I can live my life so that when He comes again I can be that kind of a witness as well.

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

So my boys are gone.

They left this morning at 6:30 for Scout camp. Gordon is the new Scoutmaster, so he's off with the boys for the week. They're in Greer, AZ for some horseback riding, fishing, and whatever else boys do at Scout camp. (It's one of those boy mysteries they don't tell girls about...) :)

I'd like to say that Courtnie and I have big plans, but we actually have a week full of stuff to do. Today we ran a ton of errands, tomorrow I have practice and a RS presidency meeting, Wednesday I'm (hopefully) getting my hair done and have a chiropractor appointment, Thursday I have to be at school in the afternoon for color guard practice.

Sometime during the week I have to...
--Get Courtnie's baptism dress made
--Practice and write a talk for Sunday's fireside
--Clean my house
--Get food preparations done for Saturday's lunch
--Plan meals for the weekend with the family
--Get programs printed for her baptism

I'm sure there's more. I'll get to it. One step at a time, right?

I'm so lucky to have an easy-going girl. She just rolls with the punches and is happy pretty much all of the time. I'm grateful for some girl time this week...I'm going to make the most of it, even if it's just hanging out while I'm at the sewing machine or putting on loud music while we clean the house together. We'll work it out, because we always do.

Papa, Can You Hear Me?

I love the movie "Yentl." I love it because my mom loved it, and she loved it because Barbara's in it. Nuff said. :)

In the last few months, I had the opportunity to watch it again. It's been a while since I've seen it--maybe ten years or so. I saw it with a new set of eyes. I began to appreciate even more the relationship Yentl had with her father, as it reminded me a lot of my own father. Over the years, I have come to realize what a great man he is, and I appreciate him, as Yentl appreciated her father.

Here are a few of the things I have learned from my father:
1. What to expect from a husband. Expect nothing less than the best from him, and make sure he treats me like a queen. (Which he does!)
2. How to be a teacher. My dad is an excellent teacher, and I love his teaching style.
3. How to love learning and to be a life-long learner.
4. To love books and the adventures the can take you on and places they can take you to. My dad and I are both VORACIOUS readers. I love books so much I could cry.
5. To show unconditional love. His kids have all screwed up from time to time--well, except for Bill :)--and he loves them all anyway.
6. How to give great advice.
7. How to write a great paper, resume, and letter. I am confident that the reason I have the job I do is because I wrote a great cover letter! :)
8. How to be an expert in teasing others. It's a family trait, and I excel at it!
9. Never settle for less than the best in yourself.
10. Love music and appreciate it. I also wouldn't be where I am today if my dad hadn't taken me to the music store all of those years ago...
11. How to love and appreciate Scouting. I'm gaining a new appreciation for this as my husband just got called to be Scoutmaster...again!
12. How to be a great parent--one who loves, teaches, listens to and appreciates each one of his kids.
13. Most importantly--he taught (and continues to teach) me the importance of having the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life. The blessings we receive from Him are evident every day.

I love you so much, Dad. I'm grateful for each one of these things...and many more...that you have taught me.

Happy Father's Day, Papa!

Happy Birthday, Cahkoola!

I'm so excited that I got these photos in the right order! (The trick...for all of you bloggers out there...is to enter them in reverse order.)

Here are some photos of our "pre-birthday" celebration dinner at Chili's. Courtnie LOVES Chili's, but the only thing she eats there is the Skillet Queso with chips. Gordon, Ian, Courtnie, Amie and Allison waiting to order our food.
Kassie, Josh and Megan looking cute.

Mikey and his Uncle "Go-Go."

The kids after dinner.

For dinner tonight, all Courtnie wanted was mashed potatoes and gravy, so I cooked a roast. We had Josh and Kassie over so we could all eat cake and ice cream together. Here's Courtnie blowing out her candle.

Happy birthday, sweetie!

Splendid--but difficult--reading

Yesterday I borrowed a book from the library. It was a book that one of the book clubs I belong to was/had read(ing) and was going to discuss soon. I haven't attended this particular book club in a while, so I thought I'd check out the book and try to join up again.

The book is called "The Book Thief" by Marus Zusak. It's about 550 pages long, and was in the "Young Adult" section of the library, although I wouldn't have placed it there. (The subject material was pretty hard to read.) I finished it just a few minutes ago. (I think it took me about 8 hours total...I read too fast for my own good sometimes!)

It's the story of a young girl growing up during in Munich, Germany during WWII. She is orphaned at the age of 9 because her parents were Communists. She was sent to live with a foster family in Munich. The book details her life with the family--an older couple with two grown children. Along the way they hide a Jewish man, she becomes friends with a mischievous boy, and she steals books.

As you would imagine, the story is hard to read--full of tragedy and loss during this awful period in human history. The book is narrated by Death, which puts an interesting perspective on things. It allows the story to be told matter-of-factly, as you would imagine Death would tell it. Even so, you can visualize exactly what is taking place and you can feel what each character is feeling.

As I was reading, especially the rather tragic ending, I couldn't help but think about what a terrible thing war is. I am not a peace-loving hippie, and I understand that sometimes war is necessary, especially when you're trying to stop a total lunatic like Hitler, but it doesn't stop me from feeling sick inside about all of the loss. The German people (well, many of them) blindly followed Hitler, believing him to be the "ultimate leader." I wonder how many of them knew what was really going on (not many, I'm sure), and how many were sickened when they found out. They lost so much in the name of prosperity and the "forward thinking" of one man.

Are we so blind that we wouldn't recognize the same thing if it was happening under our noses? I hope that we have learned enough from the lessons of the past to know better, but sometimes I feel like we could be headed for a similar fate. We are told to pray for our leaders, and I know that's the best we can do.

I'm still thinking on this, and may add more later, but that's all for now...

Football Widow

I knew it was inevitable. I knew it was just a matter of time.

I've become a football widow.

My husband is coaching football at our high school, and is having the time of his life. This makes me so happy. I am grateful that he has found a way to work with the youth and teach--two things he excels at.

He spent the entire day with them today. Practice/conditioning from 8:00-9:00, car wash from 10:00-2:00 and their Friday 7-on-7 game from 4:00-6:00. He came home tonight happy, tired, and very sunburned!

My hope is that I will be as supportive of him as he's been of me. He's never once complained about the hours I put in as a band director...never. I tend to complain a bit more. (I like to call it "murmuring." It sounds better.) I need to remember that he's been my #1 fan throughout my career, and I need to be his #1 fan in this endeavor. That's what a good marriage is all about.

It's going to take work from me, but I love him and want him to be happy. So it's worth it!

Scriptures

In our church, a lot of emphasis is placed on Joseph Smith and his translation of the Book of Mormon. This is the most important book ever written, no doubt about it.

In the past year or so I've been reading a lot of historical fiction that takes place around Henry VIII's time in England. (It all started with "Pillars of the Earth.") In the past month, I've read two books that discuss the translation of the Bible into English and how heretical it was at the time.

I am so grateful to those brave men and women who risked life and limb--literally--to translate the Bible. In these books, stories are told of people beaten, tortured, and even burned at the stake for disagreeing with the Catholic church. We are taught that the Lord prepared the earth for a long time before Joseph Smith questioned in the Sacred Grove. I am confident that without these brave men and women who lived hundreds of years before Joseph Smith, we wouldn't be where we are today. If Martin Luther hadn't written his 95 Theses, if John Wycliffe hadn't insisted on the translation of the Bible so that the "common man" could read, understand, and question for themselves, Joseph Smith wouldn't have found James 1:5. How pivotal that was to all Latter-Day Saints.

Reading these books also makes me realize how important it is to do our family history. To find these people who, I am sure, if they had the chance, would have embraced the Gospel. I'm grateful that there will be a time and a season for me to work on this. (It's not right now, but will be some day.)

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming

Short blog entry today. I'm tired! :)

We went swimming today at Kassie's. I am so grateful for this, as it has given my kids the opportunity to get wet. My kids have been scared of the water, and it's mostly my fault as I haven't provided swimming lessons like a good mom would. :(

Today, Ian felt confident enough to do several "cannonballs" off the end of the pool, and Courtnie actually let go of the side of the pool. This doesn't sound like much, but it's huge for them. Even though it's rather humiliating for me to get in a swimsuit and go out in public, I'm willing to do it if it gets them going.

(Oh, and I have to put up with a little sunburn, too. Not fun. You'd think I'd know better!)

G+A=TLA

I have a great husband.

Sure, he drives me nuts from time to time. I'm sure I drive him nuts FAR more often than he drives me nuts.

I just read an article in this month's Ensign (pronounced: N-Sign, not N-sun--that's pet peeve #3). The article was entitled "Granola Crumbs and Paint Cans." In the article, a woman describes her slight annoyance at her husband for leaving granola crumbs on the couch. She then looked around and saw that, as an artist, her messes were taking over the house, and he hadn't said a word about it.

I wish I could say that I don't get annoyed at my husband for leaving his plate by the couch, or for leaving empty pop cans around, or for folding his clothes after wearing them and placing them on the back of the couch.

It seems to me that the only time Christ really got annoyed at people was when there were "moneychangers" in the temple. (That would tick me off, too.) He didn't get annoyed when people spat at Him, made fun of Him, or called Him vile names. If we are striving to be more Christlike, perhaps I need to start with my patience for my husband's little quirks. Maybe then he'll be more tolerant of mine.

We're going to have to move soon. Our landlord is putting our house up for sale. We found out yesterday that he had scheduled an appraiser to come out today, so we were frantically cleaning the house. Instead of going to sleep when he got home from work, my husband stayed up and cleaned. I had a RS presidency meeting, and he stayed up and cleaned. When I got home, the house looked great. He's pretty amazing.

I love you, babe. Thanks for sticking with me--I'm not so sure than anyone else would have! :)

Power of Prayer

Another cool teaching moment today.

In case you don't already know, I have the WORST veins in the history of the world. You may think you have bad veins, but you've got NOTHING on me.

Fortunately for me, I have to get blood drawn and/or an IV put in about six times a year. My two favorite words in the English language are "blood draw." Oh joy!

I had a follow-up MRI for my kidney cancer today. When I arrived at the hospital, they told me that I needed a blood draw to test my kidney function before they could give me the contrast dye I needed for the MRI. I freaked out (temporarily) and then remembered what Ian and I had done just a few moments before.

As I was leaving my house this morning, Ian was the only one up. As I was stepping into my truck, I asked Ian to say a prayer for me that I'd have an easy time with veins today. He smiled and said, "Sure, mom. I'll do it." He then asked me to pray for he and Courtnie to be safe while they were alone for a bit before Gordon got home from football practice. I told him I would and was on my way.

Low and behold, the lab tech got a good vein on the first try. He took the blood he needed and I was on my way.

When I got to the MRI room, they were already set up for me. They obviously remembered me from last time, and were going to do the IV first. The radiology tech tried a vein on my right arm without luck. (It hurt like heck!) She then said she wasn't going to try anymore and called for the nursing supervisor. (She was the one who finally got a vein after 6 tries by others the last time!) She found the same vein the lab tech used and got the IV going on the first try. I almost cried.

I called Ian when I was leaving the hospital to tell him the good news, and he said, "See mom, prayer works!" I told him that I prayed for him, too and he said he knew it because he felt comforted when he was alone.

I'm grateful for a son who recognizes the power of prayer. He knows that it works, and I hope that he'll always remember it.

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!

I have a new church calling. After my millionth stint as Primary Chorister, I was called last Sunday to be the Enrichment counselor in the Relief Society presidency of our ward. I think out of the almost 18 years Gordon and I have been married, I've actually been able to attend RS about one year--total.

Needless to say, this is all pretty new to me. I'm also not a big "Enrichment Night" attendee. I'm usually so tired and/or want to spend time with my family on Thursday nights. (Plus...HELLO...that's the night "Survivor" is on!!) So, I'm in need of some serious repenting here, which is probably why I was given this calling in the first place.

I also know that I need a challenge. It's easy to get in a "rut" when you've been doing something for so long. My Sundays took little-to-no preparation. I'm sure I could have done a better job...no, I know I could have done a better job. But, I feel that way with all of the callings I've had over the course of my life.

So, today was my first Sunday in RS. Our ward is gradually shrinking as the economy of the area weakens and people are forced to move. Today we had 21 people in RS, and that was HUGE for us. Granted, a lot of sisters are in Primary or Young Women, but it's still small. When I was able to attend RS just a year ago, it seemed much bigger.

Our new RS president is awesome. I really like her, and she and I have similar personalities. She gave a great lesson today on unity in sisterhood. I know she was inspired in the things she shared with us and the lesson went by very quickly and smoothly.

Before she got to the lesson, she announced that we'd have a new member baptism in a couple of weeks. I didn't know this, but her family has been working with the missionaries on this cute older couple...the Newtons. Sister Newton talked a bit about the plans for her baptism, and was just so excited. It was so neat to see the glow in her face and the love for the Gospel she had. It just beamed from her.

As grateful as I am to have been born to goodly parents and raised in the Church, at times I envy those who join later on in life. It is so obvious that they have been seeking for something their whole life, and are thrilled beyond description to have finally found it. I take my membership in the Church for granted so much. It was good to be reminded of how important it is to not only me, but others as well.

Her excitement in the Gospel was infectious, and her eyes were full of joy. I want to live my life so that others see me that way. As I said before, it's easy to get complacent. Maybe this new calling is just the kick in the pants I need to make me realize how important it really is.

Finding "Teaching Moments"

Our family had a busy morning...

Gordon left for his company's charity golf tournament at 6:00 a.m., and the rest of us got up about 6:30 to get ready for Ian's "Wrestling War" in Camp Verde.

Courtnie gets bored at Ian's wrestling events, so I dropped her off at her friends house. It was then just Ian and I in our truck.

I invited Ian to sit in the front seat, something I never do. Even though he's 12, and "legally" able to sit in the front, he's still just too little--in my opinion. But today, I wanted to talk, and I needed him close to me.

We chatted about this and that...Ian's a smart boy who has a good head on his shoulders. I love that he wants to badly to do what's right. He can't understand why people make bad choices...he never has been able to comprehend that. From a very young age, he would ask me questions like "Why do people smoke when they know it's bad for them?" and "Why do we have these rated 'R' movies in our cabinet when we promised Heavenly Father we wouldn't watch them anymore?" Sure, some of these questions make me feel more than a little guilty, but it's just because the "wicked take the truth to be hard."

Today we got on the topic of the Word of Wisdom and caffeinated soda. If you know me even a little bit, you know that my biggest weakness is Diet Pepsi. I love it more than a fat kid loves cake. Truly. I've tried to stop drinking it several times, and it just keeps calling to me. I explained to Ian that the general authorities have counseled us that it's a personal choice. I am currently trying to cut way back on the amount of soda I'm drinking--not necessarily as a caffeine issue, but as a health issue. I just plain need to drink more water. He told me that he's made the choice not to drink soda with caffeine, and I'm proud of him.

After kicking butt and taking names at the wrestling war, we had another chance to talk on the way home. I told him how much I love watching him wrestle and how in awe I am of him and his physical abilities. I told him that every time I watch him struggle with his opponent, I am reminded of one of my favorite stories from the Book of Mormon, where Enos "wrestles with the Lord." That scripture never really hit me until I watched my son wrestle.

Ian and I discussed Joseph Smith and how much he loved to wrestle. I told him that I can imagine Joseph Smith, translating the Book of Mormon, and getting a mental image of Enos and his struggle with the Lord. How interesting it is to me that the word "wrestle" would come to him, as it so aptly describes the struggle we all go through at times. How easy it would be if we would just stop being so pig-headed and just accept that the Lord is right--always! I'm sure it gets really frustrating for Him sometimes. I'd be tempted to say "I TOLD you so!"

Anyway--I'm grateful for the time I had with my son today. I know that I need to take advantage of every opportunity to be with him. Our family isn't always the best at sitting down and having "gospel discussions," but I'm hoping that the informal, "in the car" discussions will stick with my kids. Some of my fondest memories from my teenage years are when my dad would take me to the store just because he knew I needed to talk. I remember those talks, and more than that, I remember that he cared for me. That's more important than just about anything.

I've got a camera, I've got a camera, I've got a camera hey hey hey hey

Gordon and I have been wanting/needing:

a) a new digital camera

b) a camcorder

The camera I currently have (or should I say had) was a 5 mega pixel that occasionally took a good picture. Actually, I think I've taken five or six good pictures on that camera since getting it as a gift almost four years ago.

We wanted a camcorder to record--among other things--Ian's wrestling matches. We've borrowed Josh and Kassie's camcorder and in the past and it's been so helpful for Ian to watch his matches. He learns a lot.

With those two things in mind, we went to our local Best Buy today. We were going to purchase just a camcorder, and picked out a few that we liked. We asked if the camcorder took decent still photos and were told that the camcorder "photos" were terrible. We then asked if we could purchase a camera that would shoot decent videos and were told that we're better off doing it that way.

We purchased the camera you see above.

We took it to Josh and Kassie's today for Allison's birthday and here are a few of the photos:

The "head honcho" rigging up the pinata:

Mikey and Megan picking up their loot:

The birthday girl:

Ian and Courtnie examine their loot:

I also called my dad for some "expert" advice. I always like talking to my dad, and I'm grateful (as always) for his no-nonsense advice. I can't wait until he's here at the end of the month!!

I love you, dad! :)

There's all this dough, see...and it's buried under this big W

I'm a teacher, for those of you who don't know.

One of the most challenging parts of my job has nothing to do with actual "teaching." I get paid every other week, like most people. The challenging part comes in at the end of the school year, when I get one lump sum check for the five paychecks I would normally get over the summer. It's a huge amount of money (well, huge for me...) and making it last over the summer has been a difficulty for our family.

So, today I went and picked up my five paychecks, my performance pay, and a little bit of my stipend money. It all totals a little less than $9000. This sounds like a lot of money, and it is, but for some reason we always end up eating pancakes for dinner the weeks before I get paid again.

I've been teaching for fourteen years now and have yet to figure out a way to make it work. Some teachers put their entire check into a savings account and "pay" themselves every two weeks. Gordon's mom used to pay all of her car payments, mortgage, etc. for the three months up front and then live off the rest--sparingly. We've tried this method for the past little while and it just doesn't seem to work for us.

This year, Gordon and I decided that we would pay our tithing and bills up front, then go to Costco and create a 3-month supply. We don't have a year's supply yet, and we figured this would be a great way to try this out. We're going to make a month of menus and purchase everything we need to get through the next three months. As this is an experiment, we may not be completely successful, but it will be a great "trial run." Our hope is that we can then just continue to add on to what we have done and get more storage together.

Today, I'm grateful for our inspired church leadership that encourages us to be frugal and to live within our means. Gordon's mom has a famous saying that drives him crazy, but it applies very well today--"It's not necessary."

I love Elder Hales' talk about Provident Living at the past conference. Here's an excerpt:

"What is a provident provider?

"All of us are responsible to provide for ourselves and our families in both temporal and spiritual ways. To provide providently, we must practice the principles of provident living: joyfully living within our means, being content with what we have, avoiding excessive debt, and diligently saving and preparing for rainy-day emergencies. When we live providently, we can provide for ourselves and our families and also follow the Savior’s example to serve and bless others.
Being provident providers, we must keep that most basic commandment, “Thou shalt not covet” (Exodus 20:17). Our world is fraught with feelings of entitlement. Some of us feel embarrassed, ashamed, less worthwhile if our family does not have everything the neighbors have. As a result, we go into debt to buy things we can’t afford—and things we do not really need. Whenever we do this, we become poor temporally and spiritually. We give away some of our precious, priceless agency and put ourselves in self-imposed servitude. Money we could have used to care for ourselves and others must now be used to pay our debts. What remains is often only enough to meet our most basic physical needs. Living at the subsistence level, we become depressed, our self-worth is affected, and our relationships with family, friends, neighbors, and the Lord are weakened. We do not have the time, energy, or interest to seek spiritual things.

"How then do we avoid and overcome the patterns of debt and addiction to temporal, worldly things? May I share with you two lessons in provident living that can help each of us. These lessons, along with many other important lessons of my life, were taught to me by my wife and eternal companion. These lessons were learned at two different times in our marriage—both on occasions when I wanted to buy her a special gift.

"The first lesson was learned when we were newly married and had very little money. I was in the air force, and we had missed Christmas together. I was on assignment overseas. When I got home, I saw a beautiful dress in a store window and suggested to my wife that if she liked it, we would buy it. Mary went into the dressing room of the store. After a moment the salesclerk came out, brushed by me, and returned the dress to its place in the store window. As we left the store, I asked, “What happened?” She replied, “It was a beautiful dress, but we can’t afford it!” Those words went straight to my heart. I have learned that the three most loving words are “I love you,” and the four most caring words for those we love are “We can’t afford it.”
The second lesson was learned several years later when we were more financially secure. Our wedding anniversary was approaching, and I wanted to buy Mary a fancy coat to show my love and appreciation for our many happy years together. When I asked what she thought of the coat I had in mind, she replied with words that again penetrated my heart and mind. “Where would I wear it?” she asked. (At the time she was a ward Relief Society president helping to minister to needy families.)

"Then she taught me an unforgettable lesson. She looked me in the eyes and sweetly asked, “Are you buying this for me or for you?” In other words, she was asking, “Is the purpose of this gift to show your love for me or to show me that you are a good provider or to prove something to the world?” I pondered her question and realized I was thinking less about her and our family and more about me.

"After that we had a serious, life-changing discussion about provident living, and both of us agreed that our money would be better spent in paying down our home mortgage and adding to our children’s education fund.

"These two lessons are the essence of provident living. When faced with the choice to buy, consume, or engage in worldly things and activities, we all need to learn to say to one another, “We can’t afford it, even though we want it!” or “We can afford it, but we don’t need it—and we really don’t even want it!”"

I want to continue to strive to live by these words. I haven't always, but I know it is wise counsel.

O Remember, Remember

I loved this talk by Henry B. Eyring at our last conference. (Or was it two conferences ago?)

When we were first married, Gordon had me cross-stitch the word "remember," as he feels it's the most important word in the English language. I've pondered that word many times during the last 18 years, and I believe it to be true as well.

So...with that in mind, I'm beginning a new quest. I'm going to try my hardest to write a short, simple blog each day about recognizing the Lord's hand in the events of my day. Some days may be more profound than others, but the important thing is the remembering.

My day isn't over yet, but I'm going to write about my sister-in-law, Kassie. I am so grateful to have Cobabes close by! She has been gracious and kind to me, and is a great example of Christ-like living. She freely gives of herself and I appreciate that so much. We had a fun day yesterday hanging out with her kids and swimming. She is also a great photographer, and took some amazing photos of my daughter for her baptism announcements. They look AWESOME!

I am the type of person who KNOWS that everything happens for a reason. I know that the Lord sent Josh and Kassie to Prescott Valley, and I'm so grateful that He did. They have been so great to our family and I absolutely LOVE getting to know them and their cute kids better.

Thanks, Kassie! You're awesome! :)

To My Beautiful Girl

My sweet Courtnie is going to be baptized this month. I can't believe how quickly the time has gone by. It seems like just yesterday--literally--you were born. You came into this world a very special girl and just keep getting better every day.

I am grateful for our friendship. You have become my BFF, just as your dad promised you would in your blessing. I'm glad that promise has come true, and I hope our friendship will continue to grow in love and respect throughout your life.

You make me laugh every day, and you'll never know how much that means to me. You have so many talents and gifts that our Heavenly Father has blessed you with. You're only now beginning to see some of them, and I know that more will come out as you grow into a young woman. You are a sweet and loving person who cares very much for others. I love to watch you play with your cousins--you are patient and kind with them. I know that is the kind of mother you will be someday.

Courtnie, as you get baptized, I hope that you will remember that you are a Child of God and that He loves you very much. When times get tough--and they will get tough--I pray that the knowledge of your Father in Heaven will get you through.

I love you. You're one of the best things that's happened to me. Never forget that!